SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/15/2014
10:42 PM
My Worship Time Focus: Judah’s
Sacrifice will do them no Good
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Jeremiah
7:21-26
Message of the
verses: We are looking at part three
from our first main point in Warren Wiersbe’s outline for Jeremiah.
Their Sacrifices will do them no good (Jeremiah 7:21-26): “21 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of
Israel, "Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and eat flesh. 22 “For
I did not speak to your fathers, or command them in the day that I brought them
out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. 23 "But this is what I commanded them,
saying, ’Obey My voice,
and I will be your God, and you will be My people; and you will walk in all the
way which I command you, that it may be well with you.’ 24 “Yet they did not obey or
incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and in the stubbornness of
their evil heart, and went backward and not forward. 25 "Since the day that your fathers came
out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have sent you all My servants the
prophets, daily rising early and sending them. 26 “Yet they did not listen to Me or incline
their ear, but stiffened their neck; they did more evil than their fathers.”
Since I have become a born-again believer in Jesus Christ
I have noticed that many people are mixed up about why the children of Israel
offered sacrifices to the Lord, and I believe that there were many Jews who
were mixed up about this as well. I will
say that a person in the OT became a believer in the same way that a person in
the NT, for NT believers have put their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for
salvation looking back at His death, burial, and resurrection for their
salvation. The OT saints also put their
trust in the coming Messiah as they looked forward to His coming. The sacrifices were a picture of what the
Lord Jesus Christ did on the cross for those who would believe in Him. Making this point as seen in the NT gospel we
read from Mark 12:28 One of the scribes
came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answered them well,
asked Him, "What commandment is the foremost of all?" 29 Jesus
answered, "The foremost is, ’HEAR, O ISRAEL! THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD;
30 AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD
WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH
ALL YOUR STRENGTH.’ 31 “The second is this, ’YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS
YOURSELF.’ There is no other commandment greater than these." 32 The scribe said to Him, "Right, Teacher;
You have truly stated that HE IS ONE, AND THERE IS NO ONE ELSE BESIDES HIM;
33 AND TO LOVE HIM WITH ALL THE HEART
AND WITH ALL THE UNDERSTANDING AND WITH ALL THE STRENGTH, AND TO LOVE ONE’S
NEIGHBOR AS HIMSELF, is
much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices." 34 When Jesus
saw that he had answered intelligently, He said to him, "You are not far
from the kingdom of God." After that, no one would venture to ask Him any
more questions.”
The people in Jeremiah’s day and also in the days when
the Lord Jesus walked on the earth, along with people who are alive today
believed that they can do something to merit eternal life. In the OT it was offering the sacrifices, and
also being circumcised, and today it could be that many people are putting
their trust in baptism, however Paul writes the following to the Ephesians
explaining how they had been saved: “8
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works,
so that no one may boast.”
Dr. Wiersbe writes “A superficial reading of this
paragraph may give the impression that God was denouncing the whole sacrificial
system He had given to His people in Exodus and Leviticus, but such is not the
case. In an ironic manner, Jeremiah was
only reminding the people that the multitude of their sacrifices meant nothing
because their hearts were unfaithful to God.”
“Samuel said, "Has the LORD as much delight in burnt offerings and
sacrifices As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed
than the fat of rams.” (1 Sam.
15:22) Micah 6:6-8 says “6 With what
shall I come to the LORD And bow myself before the God on high? Shall I come to
Him with burnt offerings, With yearling calves? 7 Does the LORD take delight in
thousands of rams, In ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I present my firstborn for my rebellious acts,
The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? 8 He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the
LORD require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly
with your God?”
Dr. Wiersbe concludes his commentary “God’s covenant with
Israel at Sinai emphasized the demonstration of His grace to the nation and the
importance of their obedience to Him.
Jehovah was marrying a wife, not buying a slave. When Moses in Deuteronomy rehearsed the Law
for the new generation, his emphasis was on loving the Lord and obeying Him
from the heart. To substitute external
ritual for internal devotion would make the sacrifices meaningless and rob the
heart of God’s blessings. The same
principle applies to believers today.
How easy it is to be busy for the Lord and yet abandon our first love
(Rev. 2:4).”
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: I do not want to
forget or abandon my first love, and that is loving the Lord with all my heart
and all my soul, and demonstrating this by loving my neighbor as myself.
My Steps of Faith for Today: I trust that the Lord will give me a good
night’s sleep so that I will be able to attend church services tomorrow.
Memory verses for the
week: Philippians 2:5-6:
5. Have this attitude in
yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the
form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped
Answer to yesterday’s Bible
question: “He laughed” (Genesis
17:15-17).
Today’s Bible
question: “At the throne of grace, what
may we obtain in the time of need?”
Answer in our next SD.
2/15/2014 11:20 PM
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